


Far Horizons

by turtlebook



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet Collection, Gen, In the bunker, Non-Chronological, Parenthood, Post-Season/Series 04, kabby baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 15:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11489736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtlebook/pseuds/turtlebook
Summary: There is still hope that they will all make it, living down here. That they will be able to wait out the worst of the radiation and emerge back into the light one day.For now, Abby and Marcus only have to look at their child to find that hope isn't too far out of reach for either of them.A collection of short fics. Marcus and Abby as parents, their daughter Calliope, in the bunker and beyond.





	Far Horizons

**Author's Note:**

> I would not have said I was on the bunker baby bandwagon, and yet... here we are. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> This first instalment was written for [kabby week](https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/kabbyweek2017).

"What's that?" Calliope asks, hunched over the open book in her father's lap.

"Those are trees. They grow very tall, and they make oxygen for us to breathe. And lots of animals make their homes in the branches. You'll get to see them one day."

"Outside?"

"Outside."

"What are you two doing?" Abby comes over to the corner of the infirmary where father and daughter are ensconced together on a spare bed, waiting for her to finish with her duties for the day.

Marcus looks up, keeping one arm around the restless two-year-old alternately trying to tumble off the cot or tear at the pages of the book. Toddlers have little respect for precious resources like books, with or without glossy, full-colour pictures.

"Earth Skills lesson," he says.

"She's two, Marcus."

"She's almost three."

"Yeah, I'm almost three," Calliope says with an indignant air.

Marcus smiles. "She'll need to know this stuff one day."

Abby leans over to press a kiss to the fine dark hair on Calliope's head. Her daughter ignores her, too busy trying to turn more of the pages.

"What's that?" comes the oft-repeated question once again.

"A river. It's how water moves around."

"Water doesn't move around, Dad."

Abby muffles her laugh.

Marcus sends her a look over their daughter's head. "It does when there's a lot of it, up on the surface, and that's what it looks like. There are lakes and oceans too, they're even bigger, so big you can't even see the other side." Calliope looks up at him, dubious. "You'll see one day, I promise," he says.

Later that night, in the small space they share - not a room, just part of a room divided by screens to create the illusion of privacy for them and the people around them - Calliope sleeps the deep, untroubled sleep of the very young while her parents lie awake talking in low voices.

"It's a good idea," Abby says. "We need to prepare her as much as we can. Maybe she'll do better up there than we did."

His chin rests against her hair as he agrees, "We'll do what we can. At least she knows she's going to see the surface one day."

Abby says nothing for a moment.

They both _hope_ that their daughter will see the surface. The bunker is now completely cut off from contact with the outside world - with Clarke. But there is still hope that they will all make it, living down here. That they will be able to wait out the worst of the radiation and emerge back into the light one day.

For now, Abby and Marcus only have to look at their child to find that hope isn't too far out of reach for either of them.

"We never had any idea," Marcus continues. "When we learned about Earth."

Abby settles her head more comfortably on his shoulder. "I thought Earth Skills class was pointless. Honestly, what a waste of time."

Marcus huffs a quiet laugh. "You never paid attention. I'm surprised you passed."

"Well when was I ever going to dig a well? Or use celestial navigation? I still haven't done either of those things, by the way. No one paid attention in Earth Skills, Marcus, except you, because you were -" She cuts herself off abruptly.

He frowns down at the top of her head. Nudges her when she doesn't go on. "What?"

"Do you want me to say it?"

He is actually indignant about this, spurred on by her amused grin. "You can't seriously call me a - a nerd, or something, because you were the biggest nerd out of anyone we grew up with."

"Not in Earth Skills, I wasn't."

"So you remember that? That class we had together?" He's too pleased about it to maintain the slight glare he was aiming her way. "I was about 14, I think. We didn't usually have classes together."

"No, I must have been 11 or 12 - they stuck us all in together for useless pass-fail classes like Earth Skills, didn't they? I remember you in that class. I think you sat behind me."

"I'm surprised you remember that."

"Why wouldn't I? My mother was friends with your mother, I knew who you were. You were so..."

He sighs and asks again: "What?

"Serious. You were always so serious about everything. That's what I remember most about you when we were kids."

"I remember you were... hm."

It's her turn now to ask: "What?"

"Well, you were... cute. Pretty. Don't think I didn't notice that."

"Cute?"

"Pretty. But you were always such a know-it-all, which could be annoying. And you fooled around in that class like everyone else, but you were still the teacher's pet. Everyone liked you. You were one of those Alpha station kids. Everything seemed to come so easily for you."

He looks over to find Abby, eyebrows raised. He has revealed more than she thought he would - perhaps more than he meant to.

He shrugs; she rises and falls with the movement of his body under hers. "I was 14. I felt like the world was against me, and everything was unfair."

Her hand trails lightly over his chest. "Well, it was the Ark. It was unfair."

"Yes. It was. And I grew up and wanted to... run things. The system couldn't work against me if I _was_ the system. People like you, who wanted to change things... that bothered me."

"I didn't always want to change things. Not as much as I should have. The system always worked for me, until it didn't."

He rubs her back. These are all old hurts, long past. What's important for him now is more prescient. Their situation is similar in many ways, but this is not the Ark. They are different people, in a different place, with a whole new system to navigate. And he has so much more to think about than himself.

He rolls his head over to look down at the small bed where Calliope sleeps. "I want to make sure she's ready, you know, but I also just want to -"

"Protect her."

He nods.

"It's one of the hardest lessons a parent has to learn. We won't always be able to protect her. I’m still working on that one," Abby says.

She thinks of her two daughters who have never even met. She wants to hold them both in her arms one day, perhaps in a world where she doesn't have to worry about all the things from which she cannot keep them safe.

Calliope begins to wriggle, stretching and turning on her side. Her parents hold their breaths. The small features scrunch up in a frown before smoothing out again. She sighs and remains still, and thankfully doesn't wake.

Her parents relax.

"What do you think she's dreaming about?" Abby asks.

"Nice things, I hope," Marcus replies.


End file.
